There's No Such Thing As a Chance Encounter
by Resident-Of-Melancholy-Hill
Summary: May sets off for Sinnoh after hearing that her old friend Drew may be there. Not seeing him in nine years makes her quite eager, and Harley decides to travel along. Will there be any chance encounters between friends?  Sequel to Ivory Roses and Goodbyes.
1. Chapter 1

**this came to me a lot faster than i thought it would! but, the sequel has arrived! if you have not read the story that this is a sequel of, you can either read "Ivory Roses and Goodbyes" or just read this. I made it so that this story still makes sense if you haven't read the other story, some parts are just a little vague. Hope you enjoy! :)**

**oh and guess who i'm making May's friend through out the years be? i thought it'd be interesting to make it the _other_ grass head!**

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____

Dear May,

Mr. Snowman is melting. I built him in the front yard, and he was short and fat. But now he's melting. I went outside today and his face had fallen off. The only fun thing I did all winter is now a pile of mush.

My old house is boring, and I'm always bored here. There's nothing to do. I wish we could play again. Things were always fun when you were around. We sat in the rain at a funeral, and we watched tadpoles, and TV, and we even outsmarted our moms that one time. And we said bye in the snow. The snow is going away though. Oh! I am taking really good care of your Torchic. We have some fun times, but it's mostly all boring.

My mom tells me that we can visit soon, and I'm happy about that. We can go to the park, the ice cream shop, and we need to see if the tadpoles grew up or not. I really want to hold one. But my dad says they're too big to hold and said something about them turning into Poliwhirl. I know he's just joking though. I explained to him that they evolved from Poliwags, and tadpoles are quite different.

The large mahogany armoire got broken in the move, and my parents got really upset about it. But my mom says that it's okay because it didn't have a place in this house anyway. It belongs back in Pewter City.

Well, that's all I have to say for now. I miss you a lot! Write back!

Your friend,

Drew Hayden

May finished the last line and angrily shoved the letter back into the envelope.

"I wrote back so why did I never hear from you again, jerk." May mumbled as she stood up from her bed. She had written back just like he asked, and that is where their communication stopped. He never wrote back, visited, or even called.

She had been so excited to hear from him, and over the course of nine years that excitement had turned into anger.

It wasn't the first time that she had reread the letter and become agitated.

May began pacing around her newly refurbished room.

The old light pink walls had been painted over, and three of them were now a bright red, while the third was a light green accentual wall. Her furniture had been replaced, and the entire room now possessed a modern feel.

May had spent the past five years traveling around Hoenn and Johto. She had made quite the name for herself around the different regions, and she was currently taking a short break from the world of contests. Her plans were to spend a month back in Pewter City and then to head off to Sinnoh.

All three of her rivals had headed off to different regions, and the only one that May had competed with in Johto was Harley.

He had helped her through times where she had doubted her skills as a coordinator, and though he was quite annoying, they had come to be friends.

Through out her travels May had hoped to run into Drew, but she never had. She had heard news of all his accomplishments as a coordinator. It would be expected that they run into each other, for there were not that many contests, but fate wouldn't have it.

May's mind shifted from being annoyed by Drew to thinking about her upcoming trip. Sinnoh was sure to be both exciting and a challenge.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her cell phone ringing. She walked over to her desk, expecting it to be Max with news from his research projects. Instead, an unknown number appeared on the screen.

"Hello?"

__

"May, darling! How are you?"

May sighed and a small smile crept onto her face.

"Hey Harley. Things are pretty good. Only two more days before Sinnoh you know."

__

"Ah yes. You'll have lots of fun I'm sure. Speaking of Sinnoh, are you near a television?"

May instantly started out of her room, "I'm on my way to one. Why?"

__

"News love! The news. Turn on the news. I think the top story will interest you."

"Okay then." May was now in the living room door frame and she walked over to the couch.

"Let me just find the remote." She looked around the room and scratched the top of her head.

__

"It's on top of the TV."

"Hey thanks….wait a second! How did you-?"

A tapping sound came from the window. May spun around, and stood there, mouth agape. Harley stood on the other side waving, Cacturne outfit and all.

"Harley!" May yelled into the phone.

________________

"Well I'm here aren't I? You might as well let me in. Open the window."

"You are _not_ climbing through the window! Go around to the front and I'll open the door." She hung up the phone and stomped off to the door.

May threw the door open and stood with her hands on her hips in the door frame.

"Honey, I'm home!" Harley said in a singsong voice as he strutted into the room. He embraced May in a tight hug and then stepped back to look at her.

"You're looking well!"

May rolled her eyes.

"You saw me a week ago."

"A lot can change in a week." He walked past May and into the house peering into every room. May shut the door and followed him into the living room.

"Delightful house I must say." Both of them plopped onto the couch.

"Yes Harley. You've been here before."

"Enough chitchat. Turn on the TV already." He commanded her to do it, even though he was the one who reached for the remote. He flicked it on to the news and settled back into the couch. He stretched out and took up quite a bit of room. May slid to the other side of the couch and stared at the screen. A man with an Altaria and a Manectric was in front of a green screen.

_"This has been Bolt Clod with the news." The camera panned over to the main stage._

_"Thanks Bolt for those thunderstorm warnings. Now it's time for the news! We'll start with today's top story."_

The screen divided into two separate parts and the picture of a woman in front of the contest hall in Hearthome appeared.

_"People of Hoenn, I am here in front of the contest hall in Hearthome City, Sinnoh. Why am I here, you might ask. Well a coordinator legend may have been seen strolling casually through the city!"_

May glanced over at Harley who was smiling at the screen. She was suddenly quite interested in the news.

_"A young lady called and informed us that the coordinator had been spotted, and we rushed here right away. This coordinator is none other than LaRousse City's very own Drew Hayden!"_

"I told you that you'd find it interesting." Harley taunted.

"Shhh!" May silenced him. She wanted to hear every detail.

_"Not much is known on if it was actually Drew or not, but it's possible. No one has seen him in quite a while. Is it possible that he chose Sinnoh to be his next challenge?"_

"That would certainly be a coincidence now wouldn't it."

"Shut up Harley!" May picked up a pillow off the couch and threw it at him.

_"We'll keep you updated on the possibilities!" _The screen then switched back over to the normal view and Harley turned it off.

"Was I right, or was I right?" Harley folded his hands behind his head and felt quite proud of himself.

May stood up and started pacing again. There was the possibility that Drew was in Sinnoh, and that's where she was headed. It was a nice coincidence, but she was quite nervous about it. She hadn't seen her best friend in nine years, and she wasn't sure she could still call him her best friend. How would she talk to him if they met again? What would she say? There was so much they could discuss, but she felt nauseous just thinking about it.

Harley watched as she walked back and forth through the room. His eyes followed her back and forth and back and forth. He didn't turn his head; he just moved his eyes.

May noticed this and stopped right in front of him, "Stop that! It's really creepy."

"Just being myself." He said as he raised his hands in defense. May continued her pacing.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you liked this boy." Harley smirked. She stopped with her back turned to him, and a small blush crept onto her face.

"That's ridiculous. I haven't seen him since we were little kids. How could I possibly like him?"

"Oh right." He drew out every word. "Because you've never thought about him at all."

May's face reddened and she became defensive.

"Why are you even here Harley?"

"To visit a friend of course. I wanted to inform you of Drewy-boy, May dear. You told me all about your childhood friendship: the time in the rain, by the creek, on the couch, in the snow. I know all." May picked up another pillow and threw it at him.

"You make it sound like we were making out or something! We were six and seven years old. They were play dates." May tried her best to stress her words, but she was getting embarrassed.

"So, play dates are different than dates? Now I'm confused about your old boy friend. Were you dating him? Or were you play dating him?" Harley had his arms crossed in front of him, for he knew what was coming next.

May grabbed both of the pillows and beat him mercilessly.

"Uncle! Uncle I say!" Only then did she drop the pillows.

"I didn't date Brendan at all. He asked me to a dance once. That was it." The thought twisted its way into her mind and she giggled a little. Technically, she had play dated him. She wasn't interested in dating him, and had turned down an offer to go out again after the dance. The only reason she had accepted was that it had been a Friday and she had nothing to do. Later, she had apologized to him for being so rude.

"But you'd actually go on a date with Drew, right?" Harley pressed.

"Do you want me to continue smacking you?" She questioned_______________._

"Ah! Please no! I surrender! No more pillow thwacking, I beg of thee." He tried to sound innocent and abused.

"You're a terrible actor ya know that?" May tossed the pillows back onto the couch.

"Maybe I should leave tomorrow instead of waiting." She mumbled as she walked out of the room and into the kitchen. Harley followed right behind her.

"A tempting idea May dear. I think you should leave right away. Come I'll help you pack." He grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the stairs.

"Wait. No-Harley I need a drink of water. Stop-" He dragged her up the stairs, ignoring her efforts to resist. He dragged her into a dark blue room.

"I didn't know you read this much, May." He glanced around the room at the many book shelves.

May's shoulders sagged.

"This is Max's room Harley."

"I knew that of course." They left the room and traveled into May's room. He pushed her onto the bed and hauled the heavy suitcase up next to her. He then ran over to the closet and threw the doors wide open.

May speechlessly watched as Harley rummaged through her clothing.

"Everything in here is some shade of red or green." He commented. May rolled her eyes.

"I'm already packed Harley." May said. He ignored her.

"May darling, do you think you packed enough undergarments?" He held up a red pair of underwear.

"Harley!" May launched herself off the bed and tackled him onto the floor. She grabbed the underwear from him and threw the piece of clothing back into the closet.

"Stay out of my closet…And you sounded like my mother. I have everything packed and ready." Harley puffed out his chest and exhaled sharply.

"Well excuse me for checking. You don't have to be such an overachiever you know. But, since you are packed, let's leave right now! To the airport! I've decided to come with you."

"Harley, you really don't need to-" He didn't let her finish.

They were downstairs and out the door in no time. Harley left May standing by the side door of his car and tossed her suitcase into the back. He then walked back over to her.

"Well May, everything's set. Hop in!" He raced over to the driver's side and slid in. May pulled open her door and leaned in.

"Harley, we can't leave right now. First, I haven't said good bye to my family. Second, you don't have anything packed."

Harley opened his mouth like he was going to say something and then decided against it.

"I suppose I should pack then. I'll be back to pick you up tomorrow then."

"Okay. See you then." She shut the door and headed towards the trunk to get her suitcase. She was about to retrieve it when Harley's car took off down the street. He rolled down his window and waved.

"I'll bring it tomorrow! Buh bye darling!" He called.

May laughed to herself and headed towards her house. She had a flight to reschedule.

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**well, chapter one is up! reviews and constructive criticism is very much appreciated and i can even take flames. so flame away if you want. :D oh and can you tell me how i did with harley's personality? he'll be playing a big role in this and i'm not that familiar with his character.**


	2. Chapter 2

**OMG I forgot the disclaimer! :O**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that has any relation to the Pokemon anime and games. I also do not any songs that are referenced.**

**There we go. I can stop freaking out now :) Thanks to everyone who read and/or reviewed! For anyone who may have been confused, i call Harley a grass head too due to his outfit. Oh yeah i also mixed up pewter and petalburg last chapter. May's back in petalburg city, not pewter. I just fail at editing.**

**something i noticed: if the world of pokemon is advanced enough to have video phones, huge cargo ships, and amazingly complex machins such as the Pokedex, then shouldn't it be advanced enough to have planes?**

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"Oh..." May looked at herself in the mirror. Her brown hair stuck up in several different places, and she looked like a mess. She also wasn't feeling that great. Her head hurt and so did her stomach.

_Just nerves, _she thought as she brushed her hair and teeth. She had to hurry, as her departure time was quite early in the morning. The plane times were very inconvenient. There had been the choice of an early morning flight or a late night flight. It was completely illogical.

For her outfit choice, she decided on a pair of blue sweat pants and a red t-shirt that had a Diglett on it. Above the Diglett it said, "Please don't whack me on the head!" And on the back there was the picture of a mallet and the words, "Whack-a-mole anyone?"

Traveling comfortably was the way to go.

May was in the middle of getting a bowl of cereal for breakfast when the doorbell sounded. The "ding-dong" was followed by a series of knocks and the sound of Caroline and Norman coming down the stairs.

"We'll get it May. Continue eating." Caroline called as she headed for the door.

Harley was soon watching as May ate her breakfast. He was dressed in his normal green outfit, and May wondered how comfortable it was.

"It's very comfortable actually. It breathes quite well." Harley announced. "I know you were wondering about it.

May just continued to eat her cereal. Since May was May, it took her about two minutes to finish. She was still on auto-pilot and her eyes hung half closed.

"Are we leaving yet Harley?" She said through a yawn. There was no response.

"Uh, Harley?" She glanced around the kitchen, but he wasn't there. She sighed and trudged to the living room.

"Mom. Dad. Either of you seen Harley?" Caroline and Norman were watching the news for Sinnoh.

"He said he needed to go to the bathroom, so he went upstairs." Caroline replied smiling at her daughter.

"Thanks." She half walked-half stumbled up the stairs and she went down the hall to the bathroom door, and found it wide open. She stuck her head inside looking left and right.

_What the heck?_ She thought as she turned and looked down the hallway. Then she saw it.

Her bedroom lights were on. Fully awake now, she raced to her door and stood in its frame. Harley had a plastic bag strung over his arm and he was filling it with more of May's underwear.

"HARLEY!" She screamed. He jumped and threw his hands into the air.

"Necessary precautions must be taken!" The bag slid down to his elbow joint and smacked him in the head. May's fists clenched and she stomped across the room. Grabbing the bag from him she threw it back into the closet.

It was pretty much a repeat of the day before.

"Okay then! Let's go." Harley danced out of the room while May stared after him. She was slightly disturbed.

Soon they were outside on the house's front porch. May and her parents said a teary good bye, and Harley watched from his car.

May stepped back from hugging her mother and smiled.

"Well, here goes nothing. Wish me luck." She said.

"You'll be amazing." Caroline said.

Harley honked the horn of his car.

"Simply _fabulous_." He called out the window. He stretched out the word to as long as possible. May waved back at him before turning back to her parents.

"Be careful around him." Norman said. "He seems a little, well, strange."

"Yes dad. I know." She glanced at her wristwatch and her eyes widened. "I'm going to be so freaking late!"

"Well then hurry up and go. Don't miss your plane." Her father commanded. It was, in fact, the logical thing to do.

May gave her parents one last good bye hug and headed off towards Harley's car. She slid into the passenger seat and sighed.

Harley stared at her expectantly, hands on the wheel.

"What?" She questioned. _Why's he not turning on the car? We're going to be late. _She thought as she stared back.

"Seat belt." He sang while nodding his head back and forth. May's face lit up.

"Oh yeah! Thanks for reminding me." Soon she was buckled and they were on the road.

"Yes, yes. I just couldn't live with myself if I let my little gingerbread cookie get hurt." May was about to ask how safe of a driver he was, but as she started to he reached over to turn on the radio. "Let Me Borrow That Top" by Kelly Likes Shoes was playing. May's face became one of mock horror.

"How is this even on the radio?" She yelled as she stuck her tongue out in disgust.

"It's a special CD I have." Harley started to dance and sing along with the music. May's eyes shot open as far as the could.

"Ahhh no! No no no no!" May reached over and flicked it over to the radio. Some pop song started playing, and she sunk low into her seat.

"Much better." She closed her eyes in an attempt to rest, but Harley started singing along to the music again and she opened one eye.

He was dancing again. May just sighed and went back to resting.

She rested until the car pulled into the airport parking lot.

Her and Harley stepped out of the car, grabbed their suitcases, and headed for the building marked 'terminal.' A light drizzle was falling, and the two of them hurried. Once there, they thought everything would go smoothly. Until, someone recognized them.

"Whoa it's like Harley and May! Two awesome coordinators at the same time." People all around them looked over and saw that it was them. Strangers started to crowd around them and Harley and May started to feel uneasy. Suddenly, the television that was set up for people who were waiting flicked onto a news channel.

"Look! More news on Drew!" A girl screamed. Everyone who had been crowding around the two coordinators ran screaming towards the TV. May hurried after them, leaving Harley alone by the front counter.

_"He's agreed to an interview! Drew really is in Hearthome City everyone."_The same woman from the news earlier was bouncing up and down excitedly. The screen then panned and the picture of Drew walking towards the camera came on. The girls around May squealed and May rolled her eyes. She acted disgusted by their behaviors, but something fluttered inside her as well.

Drew took his place next to the news woman and smirked at the screen.

Most of the girls standing in the terminal swooned.

"Airheads." May mumbled to herself as she looked at all the girls around her. One of them heard and stuck their tongue out at her. May simply returned the favor. The girl was about to confront her when a serious of shushes ran through the building. Everyone's attention was turned towards the television.

_"So Drew. Is there a reason why you decided to travel to Sinnoh?" _The news woman asked. May nodded at the appropriateness of the question.

Drew opened his mouth to respond, and May was eager to hear his response. Before he could speak, however, someone grabbed May's arm and pulled her away.

"Hey!" May yelled as Harley dragged her towards one of the specific plane terminals.

"Our flight's here." He replied as he presented their tickets. The flight attendant who stood next to the plane entry way nodded and ushered them onto the plan. May glanced at the side of the plane right before she entered; the picture of a Rayquaza stretched from the back of the plane wing to the tail of the plane. It gave her courage to see the guardian of the sky, for she was feeling slightly uneasy.

May searched for their seats, and when she found hers she realized that Harley was in the row of seats behind her. A small smile crept onto her face when she realized this. Harley wasn't as happy, but he sat behind her anyways.

May chose the window seat so that she could see Hoenn far beneath her once the plane took off. May glanced at the two seats next to her and wondered who was going to sit there.

"Hey May." Harley stuck his face in between the seats so that he could talk to her. May was still a little unhappy with Harley from dragging her away from the TV before she had a chance to hear what Drew had to say.

"What?" She said solemnly.

"Don't be mad at me. If I hadn't pulled you away we would've missed the flight and then you would have been even madder." He stated in a matter of fact way.

"Whatever Harley. What did you want?"

"Do you have headphones I could borrow? I wanna listen to the radio."

"No. Get your own. The flight attendant comes around with some I think." May replied.

Harley sulked. He was about to pester her again when a family of four climbed onto the plane. The mother and father followed after their two children; a little girl and a little boy.

"Row 13." The father said to his daughter. They traveled down the aisle and stopped next to row 13. The same row as Harley.

The little girl stopped and stared wide eyed at him. Harley stared back for a few seconds.

"Are you going to sit here?" He said with a smile. The little girl's eyes widened. She grabbed hold of her dad's leg.

"I don't want to sit next to the scary woman!" She told him. Her father leaned down and took her by the shoulders. He whispered into her ear and her mouth formed an 'oh.'

"Sorry mister." She mumbled. Harley's face fell and his shoulder's sagged. May tried desperately to stifle her laughter, but she just couldn't help it. She burst into a fit of laughter, and Harley pursed his lips, folded his arms across his chest, and turned towards the window.

"I'll sit next to him Sarah." The father said as he slid into his seat. Sarah reluctantly took the aisle seat.

The mother turned to her son, "Do you mind sitting to this nice young lady Brent?" The little boy shook his head, and progressed to climb into the seat next to May, who smiled at him. She forgot her unhappiness with Harley and decided to introduce herself.

"Hi. I'm May." She said. He looked at her and nodded.

"I know. I've seen you in contests." He replied curtly.

"Oh you have have you? Are you hopping to be a coordinator one day?"

"Yup! My sister wants to take on all the gyms, and I want to win the Grand Festival one day." He seemed excited to talk about his future plans, so May thought some encouragement was appropriate.

"Well, if you never give up and try your best, I'm sure you'll be a great coordinator." The boy's face lit up.

"Wow! You really think so?"

"I know so." May replied. The young boy named Brent settled back into his seat and smiled with contentment. The mother mouthed 'thank you' over his head and May smiled back at her. May settled into her seat as well and looked out the window.

_Look out Sinnoh. Here I come!_

_

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_

**That was really fun. I enjoyed writing this chapter a lot, so I hope you guys liked it too! Review and tell me what you think :)**

**Oh and thank you xXFireRossXx for telling me about the 'gingerbread cookie' name. That'll be quite useful.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: this took a little longer than I expected it to. School started again and I'm absolutely loving it. Sorry if I tortured anyone with the wait. XD**

"Hey. Miss May." Brent poked the sleeping May. She stirred, but did not wake up. She had slept soundly through out the flight, and now the plane had landed. Brent poked her again in an attempt to wake her up, and this time her eyes flickered open.

"Oh hi Brent." She said through a yawn.

"The plane landed." He stated as he stood up from the row of seats. She stood to follow after him when she remembered that Harley was on the plane as well. She turned around and stared at the seat behind her. It was unoccupied.

"Oh great." She mumbled as she continued after Brent. She didn't have any carryon items so she could just stroll right off the plane if she wanted. Instead, she had to look for Harley.

She walked to the back of the plane and then made her way up the aisle while checking every row of seats. He wasn't in any of them.

"Dang you Harley." She mumbled under her breath. A woman in front of her spun around with a look of shock on her face.

"My friend ma'am. I seem to have lost him." The woman nodded and then continued down the aisle. A small feeling of hunger was starting to find its way into May's stomach, and it grew quite quickly.

Soon she was off the plane and into a very pristine terminal. It was her first experience of Sinnoh, and everything seemed to be going well.

She bumped into a few people on her way to the nearest food stand and each one apologized.

_The people seem nice, _she thought as she continued through the crowd. Halfway to the nearest Pokémon Pretzel place she spotted Brent and Sarah. Sarah was struggling with her suitcase and Brent helped her to carry it. May smiled at the two and remembered what it was like to be that little. Memories of her and Drew flooded into her mind, causing her to smile.

She had reached the Pokémon Pretzel, and she was hungry. She strolled right up to the counter and ordered three pretzels and a large soda. When she got her order she headed over to a table, and quickly devoured the three pretzels. One was shaped as a Piplup, another as a Chimchar, and the third as a Turtwig.

_These must be the Sinnoh starters, _she thought as she drank the soda. As she was sitting there she looked through the crowd of people hurrying about. She was about to throw her things away when she spotted someone dressed in all green.

She stood up and sprinted towards him, seeing as he was walking away. She caught up and was out of breath.

"Harley! Where did you go?" She asked.

"I went to get our bags." He replied. Only then did she notice that he was carrying her bag and wheeling his own.

"Oh well then thanks. Are we ready to go then?" The two headed for the exit. On the way out May spotted a map for Sinnoh, and she quickly grabbed one.

"Necessary precautions. In case we get lost." May stated when Harley gave her a quizzical look.

"We're not leaving Hearthome for quite a while, so I don't think we need to get a map right now."

"You're the one who said to take 'necessary precautions,' remember?" May shot back. Harley stepped away from her.

"I'll go get a rental car." He said as he danced away. A man with a large video camera walked by him and over to May. He focused the lens on her for a few seconds before continuing on down the terminal, leaving May confused.

She shook her head and continued looking at the map.

* * *

Elsewhere in the city, a green headed boy strode through the lobby of Hearthome's most luxurious hotel. He was arriving after a day of interviews and quite a lot of publicity. The day's events left him exhausted, and he immediately headed towards the elevators.

"Mr. Hayden, the contest schedule that you requested was sent to your room." The concierge yelled at him from back in the lobby. Drew waved over his shoulder in thanks before stepping into the richly decorated elevator.

He rested his head against the wall as he listened to the normally boring elevator music. Instead, he found it soothing and by the time the elevator reached his floor he was half asleep.

The "ding" of the elevator caused his eyes to snap open. In front of him was an elderly couple, each of them staring at him with confusion written on their faces.

"Uh sorry." Drew mumbled as he stepped past them and out into the hallway. The two elders stepped into the elevator still shifting their gazes at Drew every few seconds.

He sighed as he walked down the hallway, thinking about the older couple.

The hotel room that he was staying in was based on the different legends of the Sinnoh region. Each wall had an intricate painting of a legendary Pokémon on it: one of Arceus, one of Palkia, one of Dialga, and one of Giratina. In the bathroom pictures of Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie hung on the walls. At night the room gave off quite a creepy feeling.

Drew slumped onto the large king bed and flicked on the TV. He reached over onto the nightstand and picked up the contest schedule that had been delivered for him, mindlessly flipping through the pages.

He had gotten to the favored coordinator page when something on the TV caught his attention.

A view of the Hearthome airport was on the screen, and the camera was slowly panning. A voice said something about an abnormal amount of people coming to Sinnoh, and large crowds were bustling about the terminals.

Suddenly, Drew recognized someone. He sat up straight and watched as Harley toted two suitcases across the screen.

"So Harley's in Hearthome. I wonder if he'll be competing in the contest next week." Drew mumbled to himself. Then something occurred to him. His brow furrowed as he realized that one of the suitcases Harley was carrying was either a very light red, or…pink?

He shook his head and started reading through the contest schedule again. Most of the names were unfamiliar to him, but then again it was Sinnoh, and he didn't know many other coordinators yet. There was one person, Dawn Hikari, whom he remembered from the first Sinnoh contest he competed in.

He'd beaten her in the semi-finals, and he had been surprised at how bubbly and happy she had been even after the loss.

"It's okay team! We'll win the next contest for sure!" He remembered the blue haired girl say as she walked off the stage.

He pondered over whether or not Dawn would post a challenge in the upcoming contest.

He was still thinking about it when something on the TV caught his eye.

The camera was panning again, and this time it came to rest on an area that had a lot of sliding doors. A girl stood by the doors reading through a map.

Drew's eyes widened when the girl glanced up once at the camera.

"That's-" The camera then continued moving and the scene with the girl disappeared. He immediately stood up from the bed and walked towards the door.

Drew had watched all of May's performances, just as she had watched his. He had been impressed with several of her performances, yet being Drew, he still thought of himself as better.

Soon he was out of the hotel and was on his way to the airport. He slid into an alleyway so as not to be seen by any of his fans.

At the end of the alley there was no sidewalk. It opened right into the street, so there was always the danger of walking out and getting hit. But Drew had traveled through it enough times to know that if a car was coming the alley would fill with a soft humming noise.

As he approached the end he stopped to listen for a second. Hearing nothing, he stepped out into the bright sunlight, just in time to see a red car come speeding towards him from the opposite direction. The driver was on the wrong side of the road, and headed right for Drew.

Drew leapt back into the alley just in time as the car sped past and then swerved into the correct lane as it sped around the corner. Drew brushed himself of, stood up, and then started running back towards the hotel. If the person stopped to make sure that he was okay, and it was a fan of his, he would be in a very awkward situation, seeing as he wanted to get the airport as fast as possible.

Or maybe the person had tried to hit him for some reason?

* * *

"Harley! You're on the wrong side of the road!" May screamed as he pulled out of the airport parking lot and started heading towards the Pokémon Center.

"No I'm not. It's a foreign place and you drive on the opposite side of the road than you normally do when you're in foreign places." He stated.

"No Harley. You don't. Now please get on the-! Harley! Look out!"

Harley spun the steering wheel hard to his left as a teenage boy walked out of an alleyway and right into the car's path. The boy disappeared back into the alleyway and Harley swerved into the correct lane.

"Is he okay?" May gasped as the car turned the corner.

"He jumped back into the alley so I assume he's okay."

"I want to go check." May stated. Harley pulled over onto the _correct_ side of the road and the two of them went running back around the corner. At first, May was expecting there to be some sort of gruesome scene, like a body with blood all over the place. But there was nothing.

She peered into the alley, and seeing as no one was there, she thought it okay to leave.

"It's like he disappeared," she mumbled as she headed back towards the car with Harley following close behind.

"May, did that boy look familiar to you at all?" Harley asked once they were back in the car. She thought about it for a second.

"No. Not really. I mean, I didn't get a good look at him. I was too busy yelling at you and closing my eyes."

Harley didn't say anything more, and they rode in silence the rest of the way to the Pokémon Center.

**A/N: There you go! Feel free to review and tell me what ya think. I hope this satisfies all the people who wanted Drew and May to meet soon. Someone gave me a really good idea for this and I'm planning to stick with it! (thnx strawberrycrystal24)**


	4. Chapter 4

The sun shone down on the city as May arrived at the steps of the Hearthome Contest Hall to see a large group of people running about.

_I wonder what everyone's up to._

A particular person caught her eye. Running towards the contest hall and up the steps was a green haired boy with a dark purple jacket and black jeans on. May stopped in her tracks.

_Could it be?_

She started running towards him, her heart beating wildly.

"Drew!" She called as she started up the steps. The green haired boy turned around, and a huge grin appeared on his face. May continued towards him, but on the very last step she tripped and fell. The marble platform of the Contest Hall rushed up to meet her, and she landed hard.

She looked up at Drew to see him laughing, but it wasn't a friendly laugh. There was a certain sense of malevolence in his laugh, and confusion spread across May's face. Drew stared at her for a few more seconds before laughing again, and then turning away.

The Contest doors opened, but instead of there being a lobby, there was only darkness. May watched as Drew started to walk inside.

"Drew, wait! Please Drew!" May called as she attempted to stand. She tried with all her might, but she couldn't get up. It was almost as if she were glued to the ground.

Drew stopped right before he went through the doors, and over his shoulder he said, "Why'd you come all the way to Sinnoh, May? To see me? Ha. I stopped caring or thinking about you a _long_ time ago." After he said these words, he entered the Contest Hall, and the doors slammed shut behind him…

May's eyes flew open and she found herself staring at the motel room's ceiling. She sighed as she realized that it was only a dream. She threw the blankets off of herself and stood up to get a glass of water. Her throat felt dry and scratchy, so she headed towards the bathroom. After drinking several glasses of water, she went back to her bed. She couldn't sleep however, for the content of her dream had struck fear in her heart.

What if Drew had forgotten her? What if he did not care that the major reason for May traveling to Sinnoh was to see him? What if all the fame from being a top coordinator had changed him?

May had too many questions, and she knew that she would not be receiving their answers until she met Drew again. She hoped that it would be sooner than the contest, but the possibility of running into him was very unlikely.

Wherever he went there would be a large crowd of people, which was both helpful and disobliging. It would be helpful because the horde of people would make him quite easy to find. It would be unhelpful because it would discourage Drew from leaving the hotel he was staying at. He probably wouldn't leave the hotel until it was time for the contest.

May sighed as she lay there, just staring at the ceiling. She couldn't fall asleep with all the questions stuck in her head. They circled around and around, like the wheel of a car. Sometimes it came to a stop, and she focused on one question at a time, but it was mostly turning, each question being related and then leading to the next.

Eventually, she drifted off to a light sleep, with one question on her mind.

_Will he care that I'm here?_

_

* * *

_

Drew casually strolled towards the Hearthome Contest Hall, enjoying the quiet solitude of the early morning. Some practice for the upcoming contest was in order he thought, and what better place to practice than the hall itself?

He stepped inside the large building, looking around at what he expected to be an empty lobby. Instead, there was one person.

He was about to greet whoever it was when his voice caught in his throat. It was a girl, around his age, with long brown hair.

_Could it be…?_

The girl had her back to him, so that her face was a mystery to him. Either way, the gut feeling he had was telling him exactly who it was. He raced forward, embracing the girl from behind.

"May! It's…I mean I…you're….you're here! I can't…believe…it?"

The girl turned around, a startled expression on her face. Drew stepped back quickly as realization struck him. His gut feeling had been wrong, and the girl standing in front of him was definitely _not_ May Maple.

"Ah. I'm so sorry." He said, flustered. The girl turned around and ran from the lobby.

Drew ran after her, feeling that an explanation for his actions were necessary. As he burst through the lobby doors, the sun appeared over the trees and shone right into his face.

"Ah!" He yelled as he covered his eyes from the blinding light. As the initial burst of brightness wore down, he looked around at the people walking past the contest hall. Instead of seeing everyday faces of everyday pedestrians, every person he saw looked like May.

He looked up and down the street in fear, trying to understand what was happening. Everywhere he looked, she was there. Everyone had her long brown hair, her crystal clear blue eyes, and the same outfit he had seen her wearing on the news earlier.

He worked hard to calm himself down, before walking down the steps and up to one of the "Mays."

"Excuse me, but are you May Maple?" He asked her.

She looked at him in confusion.

"Whose that?" Her voice was high pitched and annoying.

"Never mind." Drew continued asking the people, but he got the same response every time. Over time, he gave up and sat down on the very bottom step of the contest hall entrance.

He watched as hundreds of people who looked exactly like May walked by. He buried his head in his hands, confused about what was happening.

Some time later, he heard soft footsteps come up and stop in front of him. He looked up into the face of yet another May.

"Drew?" Her voice was similar to May's, and it could be her. After all, it was seven years later. His face lightened, and he stood up.

"May?"

A soft smile came over her face, her head nodding slightly. They stared at each other, neither of them able to speak. Suddenly, the sky went back, and the wind started blowing. The clouds covered the sun, and the bright morning was suddenly turned into a cloudy nightmare.

Drew looked around at all of the other Mays, to see them disappearing. It was almost as if they were holograms, but, they had been real. Each of them disintegrated, and disappeared with the wind.

Drew looked at the May in front of him, and his eyes widened. She was disappearing as well. More slowly than the others, yet still disappearing.

"No…" Drew whispered as she disappeared.

Soon, he was alone; the sky still black, and the street empty.

It was almost as if May had never even been there…

Drew's eyes flitted open as the first rays of sun shone in through the hotel room's window. His eyes came to rest on the painting of Giratina, and it sent chills up and down his spine. Had Giratina made his pleasant dream into a nightmare?

More than just that question was in his mind, however. The dream made him doubt what he had seen on the news, and he wondered if May was even in Sinnoh at all. The only time he had seen her was on a television screen while she was competing. The girl on the news had looked like her, but maybe that's all she had been; a look-alike.

A little agitated, he stood up from his bed and headed towards the bathroom, feeling like Giratina was watching him all the while.

Once he entered the bathroom, his watcher changed to the three lake pokémon, which seemed a large improvement. Their friendly features brightened Drew's mood a little. He splashed water onto his face and looked at himself in the mirror. A green haired, emerald eyed, fifteen year old boy stared back. He sighed, thinking about how much he had changed since when he was a kid. Physically and personality wise.

He thought about how much May had probably changed as well. Sighing, he walked out of the bathroom to get dressed before he went out to train for the upcoming contest. There wouldn't be much competition, but practice never hurt.

He changed into a purple turtleneck shirt and a pair of black jeans. Before he left the hotel room he grabbed a black jacket.

As he walked through Hearthome's streets he thought about how crisp and clear his dream had been. Early morning Hearthome had matched perfectly with that of his dream.

He smiled to himself, knowing that it had just been a dream, but in the back of his mind there was some sort of nagging feeling that he couldn't get rid of. Not only could he not get rid of it, but he couldn't understand it either.

As he arrived at the Hearthome Park, he saw a young couple strolling along the pathway. They looked happy and peaceful, and he smiled at them. When he passed, they both smiled at him before continuing their conversation.

"I swear I saw outside of the airport. Maybe she'll be competing in the upcoming contest. That'd be just great…"

Their conversation faded as they got further away. Drew's heart was beating a little faster. The airport was where he had seen the person who he thought was May. May was also a coordinator, so it was possible that she would be competing in the next week's contest.

With more faith than before, he called out his Roserade and his Lumineon, which he had caught as a Finneon and raised.

Since May was possibly going to compete in the contest, he had to make sure his appeals were perfect.

The nagging feeling was pretty much gone, and instead of focusing on his dream and all his worries, he focused on what it would be like to meet May again.

"Okay guys. I got a little inspiration from a dream this morning. Roserade, use magical leaf. Lumineon, use silver wind. "

Rainbow colored leaves spiraled into the sky and were soon consumed by the silver wind, which caused the leaves to dance around in between all of the silver colored sparkles.

The scene resembled that of Drew's dream. The way the wind was blowing and the way all of the Mays had disintegrated into the air.

"Now Lumineon, use rain dance." Lumineon began to glow as a small area of sky began to drop rain. The leaves and the sparkles were caught in the rain drops, and they fell to the ground.

As each one touched the earth, it disappeared in a small flurry of sparkles and splashes.

Drew smiled to himself at the success of the appeal.

"Really good guys. Thanks."

He was happy with it, but he felt the timing could be better.

"Now let's go through it one more time…"

**A/N: Thanks for reading guys! Hope you liked the chapter and anyone have any advice on how to make the appeal better? I was actually really happy with what I thought of but…was it good? **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry everybody! I know there was a lot of confusion with the last chapter, and they were both dreams that ended with both May and Drew waking up. And I'm sorry it took me so long to update this. School took over my life and I'm utterly failing so….I've been studying instead of writing. If you've read this far into my note, thanks for caring! Ha…But it happened again. My story went from a happy beginning to one with some sort of sadness...just great!**

"One more day!" Harley sang as he and May walked into the local park.

"I'm trying not to think about it too much." May said with a sigh. Over the past few days her nightmares had gotten worse. She chose not to recall the most recent ones.

All of her thoughts and worries circled round and round in her head, which was something that she had gotten used to. The feeling of having one thought at the front of her head and then it being whisked away while another thought replaced that one.

It was quite bothersome to her, for she could never complete a single thought fully. She would start sifting through ideas, seem to come to a conclusion, and then the entire train of thought would disappear.

"It's like the thought train in my head leaves the station, which is the front of my brain. Then eventually it comes back, like trains. They always come back to the station," May had explained the feeling to Harley once.

Since Harley was himself, he didn't quite understand what May meant. At the end of her explanation he had been left wondering why May had been talking so much about trains.

Now, as they walked into the park, May had an overall feeling of dread. Harley had attempted to cheer her up, but nothing seemed to work. Instead of feeling excited about the contest, she resented ever deciding to come to Sinnoh.

What had started out as a pleasant trip full of hopeful expectations and laughter had turned into one of worries and anxiety.

"Come on May! Be more excited. We came all the way to Sinnoh for this, and you're finally going to get to see Drew again! That's got to make you happy." Harley stood in front of her on the path through the park with his arms folded across his chest.

May sighed again, "He may not even care that I came Harley. It's been seven years since I've talked to him. He could be a completely different person."

"But you've seen him in interviews and in contests. The interviews at least give you some idea of what he's like am I right? I'm right. I'm right aren't I? Tell me that I'm right." Harley went on as he pointed straight at May's face.

"Yeah I guess so," She smiled and pushed his hand away. "Though that could all just be an act." She thought of the many interviews where she had seen him smiling and revealing his thoughts on things to the world. He had just seemed an older version of his childhood self.

"It's not an act. Not at all. Don't forget that I've met Drew before. I know him. He's just like how he seems in the interviews." Harley said.

"Well, we'll just have to see tomorrow then won't we? But come on Harley! I want to practice my appeal." May took off at a run, and Harley walked behind her. Running was too much work for him.

"Come on! Geesh you're such a Slowpoke!" May called from in front of him. She was feeling much more light hearted.

"Haha very punny." Harley yelled back. He continued at his walking pace.

Once he caught up to where May was, he found that she had already called out her Glaceon and her Beautifly. She was going to use the two of them as her appeal team, and she was going to use her Blaziken and her Glaceon for the battling portion of the contest.

"Alright. We haven't practiced in a while so we're all going to be a bit rusty. That's okay though! That's why we're practicing." May said to her pokemon. Harley went over to a nearby bench and sat down to watch.

"So Beautifly petal dance please." May commanded. Soon small little pink petals were flying through the air.

"Glaceon please use ice beam on the ground." A small area around Glaceon was covered in ice now. May smiled at how well things were going for not having practiced in a while.

"Good! Now you can skate around on the ice Glaceon! Beautifly, use silver wind to mix up the petals and the pieces of snow. Oh and just let yourself drift around with the wind."

The picture of Glaceon skating around as the snow and petals fell down around with little sparkles was quite pretty, and Beautifly, who was still glowing from having used both petal dance and silver wind, was floating around above the ice as well.

Harley clapped at the performance and May shot a smile at him. There was still more to what she was planning.

"Now Beautifly, use whirlwind to suck up all the petals, snow, and sparkles. Glaceon use iron tail on the ground to break the ice."

Glaceon's tail collided with the ice, and it broke into thousands of pieces while being thrown into the air. Beautifly created a whirlwind, which attracted all of the small petals and ice shards to it.

In the end, Beautifly was at the top of the whirlwind and the whirlwind itself was glittering and sparkling with ice and sparkles. The pink of the petals also added to the overall effect.

Harley stood up of the bench and continued to clap and shout May's name. She took a bow, but it was a little too early for that.

All the while the whirlwind had started to move closer and closer to Glaceon. Glaceon tried to move out of the way, but it was too late. The whirlwind grabbed hold of the poor ice-type and spun it up into the air.

"Glaceon! Beautifly stop the whirlwind!"

Beautifly stopped the whirlwind and Glaceon came crashing to the ground.

"Glaceon!" May yelled as she ran over to the poor pokémon. Harley let out a quiet shriek and ran over to May and Glaceon. Beautifly hovered over the group.

"Glaceon are you okay?" May pulled the small ice-type into her arms. Glaceon pushed away from her and stood on its own, facing her. The pokémon looked at May with bright eyes and a cocked head.

"It looks like it." Harley said with a grin.

"Well…okay. If you're sure then we should probably fix that problem." May said as she stood up. Harley raced back over to the bench and became an observer once again.

"Same thing as before you guys. Only this time, Glaceon, use iron tail closer to the edge of the ice so that you're as far away from the whirlwind as possible." May commanded. The two pokémon went through the same pattern again, only this time Glaceon used iron tail closer to the ice's edge.

Unfortunately not all of the ice cracked, and only some of it was picked up by the whirlwind.

"Darn it. That won't work either." May mumbled to herself. Suddenly, Harley's voice reached her from where he was on the bench.

"What if you had Glaceon use iron tail once in the middle of the ice and then as the whirlwind pulls Glaceon towards itself why doesn't Glaceon use iron tail again on the whirlwind? That way the whirlwind will be destroyed in an oh so suave manner and Glaceon won't get hurt at all." He suggested.

May smiled at him, "Hey, that's a great idea. Thanks Harley! It'll even look good."

So May had them run through it yet again. This time, however, Glaceon used iron tail on the whirlwind. Sure enough, the petals, ice shards, and sparkles exploded and fell to the ground in a beautiful display.

The tinkling and clattering of the ice on the ground was also quite charming.

"Awesome!" May yelled as she ran forward and hugged her pokémon.

"Make room for Harley!" He yelled as he ran over from the bench. Before he got there though he slipped on a stray ice shard and fell to the ground with a "thud." May laughed at his surprised face before helping him up.

"You should be more careful." May warned as Harley brushed himself off.

"Yes well if you had warned me that there was ice on the ground I wouldn't have fallen." He said as he stuck his nose into the air.

May gave him an 'you've got to be kidding me' look.

"Harley, you saw Glaceon use ice beam and you watched as the ice clattered to the ground! In what ways is you falling _my _fault?" She put her hands on her hips.

"I don't need a reason. I _know_ it's not my fault." Harley replied.

May rolled her eyes at him and then turned her attention back to her pokmon.

"Let's go through everything a couple more times, you guys. You're doing great!" May, Glaceon, and Beautifly went through the series again while Harley stood by May.

When May was happy and satisfied with the timing and the quality of the appeal she decided to call it a day.

"Thanks you two. You are going to be awesome tomorrow. Rest up." she said as she recalled the two of her pokémon.

Then she and Harley started out of the park to find a place to eat. May was hungry, as always.

They had just spotted a restaurant when a group of people saw them. These people were obviously coordinator fans.

"Look! It's May Maple…oh and Harley too!" The large group raced over to them.

"Are the rumors true? Are you competing in tomorrow's contest, May? Are you only in Sinnoh to compete in contests, or is there another reason?" All of them seemed to be asking May questions at once; she was quite overwhelmed.

"Excuse me!"

Everyone fell quiet, and their gazes shifted to where Harley was standing.

"Doesn't anyone want to ask _me _questions?"

The crowd just blinked and stayed silent for a few moments. Then they continued bombarding May with questions.

May answered them as best she could, and her gaze kept shifting from Harley back to the restaurant. All she wanted to do was eat.

Suddenly her gaze went from the restaurant to Harley. He was looking at her, and a malevolent smirk appeared on his face. With out warning, he broke through the crowd and strutted off towards the restaurant, one hand on his hip and the other waving goodbye over his shoulder.

"Just join me when you're done with your fans, May darling." He called over his shoulder.

May's mouth fell wide open and she stood there, shocked and speechless at first. Then her shock turned into anger.

"Harley! Get back here right now!"

He kept walking.

The crowd kept asking her questions.

Her stomach kept rumbling.

"Harley!"

* * *

Halfway across the city of Hearthome, Drew was headed out of the contest hall when someone called his name. He turned around to see a blue haired girl walking towards him, and in her arms she held a Buneary.

He half-smiled, "Hey. You're Dawn, right?"

The girl nodded and smiled back at him, "Yup. I don't want to keep you here long because I see that you're just about to leave. I just wanted you to have this." She handed him a piece of paper. He looked at her, puzzled.

"It's just the updated version of the contest schedule. A few people entered last minute." The Buneary struggled in her arms. "I better get back to practicing. See you tomorrow." She turned her back on him and skipped away.

Drew shook his head and turned around to leave. The girl hadn't given him much chance to actually talk, and honestly, Drew found her somewhat annoying. She was just so…bubbly all the time.

But other than being slightly annoyed by her personality, he was glad that she had given him the updated schedule.

He continued to walk outside the Hearthome Contest Hall, but he read as he walked. There were a few new names, and he recognized some of them, though he didn't really care about them competing. Only one name would matter to him.

But then, towards the very bottom of the competitor list, he saw that name. The one that he had been hoping to see the last time he checked the schedule.

He mentally celebrated and headed off towards his hotel.

Though he was excited and anxious about the next day, there was no way that Drew Hayden was going to show it other than a casual smirk on his lips and a certain glimmer in his eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Did you forget I existed? Bet ya did. But I finally updated. Aren't you all so proud? I'm really sorry this took me so long, but my life's been busy and full of a bunch of problems so I didn't have time to work on this for a long time. (And being obsessed with the new White version may have had a few things to do with this as well…)**

**Note to J1hbk: (Yes. I have been told not to specifically answer to people in the author notes. This is the one time that I am.)**

**I love Dawn, trust me. I was just trying to come up with what Drew's opinion of her would be. No Dawn bashing intended. **

* * *

"Ladies and gentleman! Welcome to the annual Hearthome City Poké mon Contest. I'm glad that all of you could join us here today in order to see a wonderful set of displays that show off the beauty of poké mon!" The MC announced into her microphone.

Hundreds of people sat in the stadium seats, waiting for the contest to begin.

May raced into the contest hall and ran straight to a dressing room, where she quickly changed into her contest outfit. She was really late, and Harley was already in the stands.

She dodged around people who were walking through the hallway as she made her way towards the coordinators' lounge.

She might have been late, but there wasn't a reason for her to be rushing. She was at the very end of the appeal list; she had lots of time.

As she rounded the corner, she was glad to see that all of the other coordinators were still crowded around the small television. She was _not _glad, however, that Drew was nowhere to be seen.

Her heart fell as she approached the others.

"How is he not here?" She muttered to herself as she came to a halt behind a few other people.

"Hm?" Someone turned around and gave her a questioning look.

"Oh, uh not you. Sorry." May apologized. The person shrugged and turned back around. May's shoulders sagged, disappointment taking over. He simply wasn't there. She walked over to a bench and sat down feeling totally discouraged.

Some of her interest towards the contest disappeared. All she wanted to do was go back to Petalburg. May called out her Beautifly.

"I shouldn't have listened to all of those rumors and I shouldn't have ever come to Sinnoh, huh Beautifly?" The small butterfly poké mon tried to offer its trainer some comfort by landing on her head.

"Haha…thanks." May smiled solemnly. She turned her attention towards the television screen. The MC was about to announce the first coordinator.

"A coordinator with high caliber and grace, winner of several Grand Festivals, and a huge Top Coordinator! Today, I am proud to introduce to you…Drew Hayden of LaRousse City, Hoenn!" The entire Contest Hall erupted into a tumult of applause.

May shot up out of her seat with a look of shock on her face. Her immediate thought was that she was dreaming. She didn't expect anyone to come out of the large entryway into the performance area of the stadium. She expected there to be darkness, like in so many of the dreams she had had.

But it wasn't a dream.

Drew emerged from the entryway with a large smile plastered on his face and two poké balls in hand.

May stood back in the coordinator lounge with a huge grin on her own face. Her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest. He _was _in Sinnoh.

She waited anxiously for him to begin his appeal.

He quickly called out his Lumineon and his Roserade, to which the crowd let out another tumult of applause. He and his poké mon went through their appeal flawlessly, and Drew's face had a small smirk on it all the while.

At the end of his appeal May was laughing and clapping a bit over zealously. The other coordinators were applauding as well, but not quite as enthusiastically.

Everyone in the lounge quieted down as Drew entered. Many of the other coordinators congratulated him on a great first round performance, but he shrugged it off with an, "It could've gone better."

May was about to approach him, but a sudden, panicky feeling overtook her. _What's wrong with me, _she thought. _All I have to do is walk up to him and start talking. Ah yeah right. I wouldn't have any idea what to say! Oh no…he's coming this way. I hope he hasn't seen me._

She turned around and ran for the dressing room.

Originally, Drew hadn't seen her, but taking off down the hallway with a Beautifly flying close behind her had drawn a lot of attention.

He sighed as he watched her disappear down the hallway. But then, the confused frown that had settled on his face lifted into a grin. He wouldn't have known what to say to her had they ended up talking anyway, so in an odd way she had just saved them both from a very awkward conversation.

"That was a fabulous performance."

Drew turned around to see Harley walking towards him.

"It could've gone better." He said with a flick of his hair.

"Hm you always say that. But anyways, have you seen May?"

* * *

In the dressing room May was breathing hard and chugging down a bottle of water. She was feeling nervous.

Harley entered the room, "And what exactly do you think you're doing? Drew is out in the lounge, not in here. Go talk to him!" He grabbed her hand and tried pulling her towards the door.

"No! Harley I don't want to. I'm way too nervous." She pulled her hand away and stood with her arms crossed against her chest.

"But you're sooo close to seeing him again. This is your best friend for crying out loud!"

"I only actually knew him for a month, and we were, like, six years old. I am NOT leaving this room." She said defiantly.

"How are you going to compete in the contest then?"

"Easy. I'll just drop out." Her stubborn side was taking over, and Harley knew that he had to do something quickly. If he didn't, she'd get her way.

"Fine. I'll just go outside and announce to everyone that you're too scared to participate." He started for the door.

"Don't you dare! I don't want them thinking that I'm a weakling or anything."

"Nerves get the best of us." Harley was still walking away.

"Harley! Please don't…" She whined.

He opened the door, "Are you going to come out and participate?"

"…"

Harley sighed and walked out the door. May stood there, staring out into the hallway.

Come on, May. It's not that bad.

She swallowed and took a deep breath before racing out of the room after Harley.

She saw him rounding the corner, "Harley!"

He turned around and smiled, "Change your mind?" She only stuck her tongue out at him while passing.

Back in the lounge, May nervously glanced around. Drew was nowhere to be seen. She sighed in relief and crashed on the couch. It was strange; at first she had been disappointed when she didn't see him around, but now she was glad that he wasn't there.

She settled back and watched the other coordinators. Watching the others compete calmed her, and soon she was completely involved with each of their appeals.

A certain Dawn Hikari's performance impressed her quite a bit, and she made a mental note to compliment her whenever she had the chance.

Soon enough, it was May's turn. She stood up and took one last glance around the room. Drew still wasn't around, and that was probably a good thing. Had he been there, May's level of nervousness would have skyrocketed. Harley helped to ease the nervousness as he flashed May a quick grin while she approached the entrance to the stadium.

With in a few seconds, the doors were opening, and she was stepping out into the light.

"Next up, a Top Coordinator all the way from Petalburg City, Hoenn, May Maple!"

The crowd cheered as May called out her Glaceon and her Beautifly.

"Just like we practiced you two." She said as she quickly ran the appeal sequence through her head one more time.

Everything went wonderfully, and May smiled at her overall score. Calling back her two poké mon, she walked back to the lounge with a wide grin spread across her face.

Harley was waiting for her, and he hugged her enthusiastically.

"Augh! Harley, relax. I haven't won yet, you know." May laughed as he let her go.

Suddenly, another voice came from behind May.

"That looked like it went well, for a semi-top coordinator that is." The voice was smooth, and it had the hint of a condescending tone. May spun around and came face to face with none other than Drew Hayden. He was a bit taller than her, and she had to look up in order to talk to him. Or rather, in order to _attempt _to talk to him.

She opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but no words came out.

"Going to say something? Or are you just going to stand there with your mouth open?" He smirked.

May closed her mouth and cleared her throat, "I was, uh, just surprised. I mean, you're you." She stammered over her words a bit, and her face grew a bit red.

"That didn't sound fan girlish at all." Harley said.

"Shut it Harley." May snapped as her face grew even redder. There was quite an awkward feeling in the air.

"She meant that we just haven't seen each other in forever, right May?" Drew said.

She nodded, "Yeah. That's what I meant."

The rest of the coordinator lounge fell silent, and everyone's attention was turned towards the television screen. The faces of the people who had made it to the second round came onto the screen. Both Drew and May had made it, and they both smiled.

The names were then shuffled, and the second round battle opponents were displayed. Both May and Drew were up against people that they didn't know. Neither of them were in the first battle though, so they decided to sit on one of the couches in order to watch.

Dawn walked past them on her way to the arena, and May wished her good luck. Drew, on the other hand, stayed silent.

The two of them sat and watched Dawn's match. Every once and a while Drew would comment on a certain move or decision, and May soon joined in. They agreed on a few things, but most of their comments led to tiny little arguments. They weren't serious arguments, of course, and May was just glad that most of the initial awkwardness had disappeared.

As the battle came to a close, however, Dawn ended up losing.

"She should've won that." Drew mumbled.

May defended her, "Well, she did her best. That's winning in my book."

"You sound like a little kid." He laughed.

"Takes one to know one." A short moment of silence followed. But then, "Speaking of little kids, what the heck happened to you? After that one letter…" Her voice trailed off as she looked down at her hands in her lap.

"What do you mean? I sent that _one _letter and never heard back from you. When someone writes you a letter, it's custom to send one back." He flicked his hair out of his eyes.

"I know that! I'm not stupid you now," she replied. "I did send a letter back."

"Well I never got one."

"Oh." May said softly. She was somewhat relieved with the truth, for him not receiving the letter was far better than him just not bothering to reply.

As their short conversation ended, Dawn came back with a sad look on her face.

"Hey, Dawn. It's ok! We all win some; we all lose some." May got up and hugged her.

"Thanks. I messed up a lot though. I guess my head just wasn't in it."

May looked at Drew, and when he didn't say anything her look turned into a glare.

He rolled his eyes, "Everyone has off days now and then." Dawn shot him a smile before saying that she should probably head over to a Poké mon Center to tell her mom. Soon she was gone, and May had sat back down to watch the next round.

"That's all you could come up with?" She was a bit annoyed.

"Hey I wasn't really thinking about it, kay? I probably should've said something a bit more…comforting, but nothing came to mind. What I was wondering is how come you were so willing to comfort her? I mean, today's the first time that you've met her, right?"

May thought for a few seconds, "Well yeah, but I guess she reminds me of myself a tiny bit. Just starting out, full of potential."

Drew laughed at the last remark, "Yeah, because you were _so _full of potential."

"Hush! If I had a pillow, I'd beat you with it."

As they were semi-conversing, semi-arguing, the other battle was going on, and it was nearing the end. There was only about a minute left when Harley danced over to them.

"And what have we here? Ah it just makes my heart sing I tell you. Two lovers who've come together to reignite the passionate flame that once burned bright. A childhood bud of romance that is ready to finally bloom into a beautiful rose." He plopped down onto the couch in between them.

"Wha-?" At first, May blushed and looked away, but after a snigger from Drew, she suddenly became angry, "Shut up Harley. That's not funny."

Harley replied, "Oh, I think it's hilarious, yet it's also touching. Think about it. Not many people get to reunite with their childhood devotee." His voice was sweet and May grew more annoyed.

"Harley, we were six and seven year old _friends_." She made sure to emphasize the 'friend' part of it. Harley opened his mouth to say more, but he was interrupted by Drew.

"I think I'm going to go get a drink of water. My throat feels a bit dry, and my nerves are acting up a bit." He stood up then and walked off towards the dressing rooms.

Harley's brow furrowed, "How odd. He's never nervous when it comes to contests." May said nothing. She was very glad though, that when Drew came back Harley had decided to stay quiet.

At that point in time, it was May's turn. She stood up, took a deep breath, and started forward.

She was stopped abruptly, though, when someone grabbed her arm. She turned around to see that it was Drew.

"May, be sure to win this. I'm looking forward to battling you in the finals." A small grin came onto his face. May's heart fluttered, and all she could do was nod in response.

She then went on to her match. Knowing that thoughts of Drew would distract her, she pushed him out of her head. Though she did make sure to remember the one last thing that he had said to her.

With soaring confidence, May easily defeated her opponent. And with style and grace too. There was no 'brute force' in her battle.

She met Drew in the hallway as he was going to compete for his right to move on.

"Good luck." She said with a smile.

"Pfft. This'll only take a minute."

In the end, he was right. It only took his opponent a minute to beat him.

He came back out mumbling to himself about the different things that he messed up on.

"Well, it only took a minute…" May said quietly.

"It's like I told Dawn; everyone has their good and their bad days. But, I think I'm going to go plan on how to make this day better. I'll see you later." He then turned around and left.

"Uh, bye." May said. Drew gave a quick wave over his shoulder. Although it was silly, May couldn't help but wonder about his quick good-bye. Had it just been a quick "see you later" that held no actual meaning? Or was he actually expecting to see her later?

May laughed at herself for thinking such things. She then turned her attention back to the television screen to watch one of the semi-final matches.

The winner of the match, some guy named Sean, was good. Really good. And after she beat her semi-final opponent, she'd be up against him.

With all of her worries set on the finals, she won the semi-final round with ease.

_To think that I'm having such luck_, she thought. _Drew must really be off today._

Things were also looking good for her in the final round. Her poké mon were in great shape, and her confidence level was higher than it had probably ever been before. But being May, that level was still pretty low.

So, as she met Harley one last time before the final battle, she was both excited and nervous at the same time.

"Good luck, May! You're obviously going to win with all of that fabulosity of yours." He winked at her. Normally, May wouldn't think anything of it. Harley was Harley, and he did stuff like that all the time. But at that particular moment, something was different. She couldn't tell if it had been in his tone of voice or in his facial expression, but she wondered if he was up to something more than his usual antics.

She couldn't think of it for very long though. That Sean kid was waiting, and she couldn't afford to be distracted.

"Here I go, Harley. I've got a contest to win!"

* * *

**A/N: This is long…oops. Well sorry about the length if you didn't like it, but I had to fit everything in since the next chapter will almost definitely be the last. I hope you guys liked this chapter and I didn't make you wait forever for nothing…**


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